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Title: Motorland Magazine, September-October, 1955
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Motorland Magazine, September-October, 1955" ***
MOTORLAND
AFEA WFEA
INFORMATION ON
MONTEREY PENINSULA
PLACE OF THE ANNUAL MEETING
AUGUST 26-29, 1956
[Illustration: Rocky headland, “The Pinnacle”, at Point Lobos State
Park, and the gaunt branches of a Monterey Cypress.]
MOTORLAND
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1955 · Vol. LXXVI No. 5
[Illustration: CALIFORNIA STATE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (AAA)]
_Published bi-monthly by_
CALIFORNIA STATE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
_Officers of the California State Automobile Association_
Edward H. Peterson President
A. E. Strong Vice-President
Fred J. Oehler Vice-President
Irving H. Kahn Treasurer
Edwin S. Moore
Secretary and General Manager
_Board of Directors_
Reginald H. Biggs Walnut Creek
H. J. Brunnier San Francisco
S. V. Christierson Salinas
G. A. Filice Berkeley
Irving H. Kahn San Francisco
Joseph R. Knowland Oakland
J. J. Krohn Arcata
Harold J. McCurry Sacramento
Joseph F. McDonald Reno, Nevada
Fred J. Oehler San Jose
J. E. O’Neill Fresno
Obert Pedersen Santa Rosa
Edward H. Peterson San Francisco
Clyde W. Rann Redding
J. B. Rice San Rafael
Prentiss A. Rowe San Francisco
Porter Sesnon San Mateo
A. E. Strong Santa Cruz
Norman S. West Modesto
_Honorary Life Director_
E. B. Degolia San Francisco
_Inter-Insurance Bureau_
_Executive Committee_
Reginald H. Biggs
H. J. Brunnier
Irving H. Kahn
Fred J. Oehler
J. E. O’Neill
Edward H. Peterson
Porter Sesnon
W. Foster Stewart Manager and Attorney-in-Fact
Entered as second class matter at the Post Office at San Francisco,
California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Trade Mark registered
October 25, 1911. Subscription, $2.00 per year; single copy, 50 cents.
Office of Publication and Editorial Office: 150 Van Ness Avenue, San
Francisco 2, California. Editor and Manager, Wm. F. Kilcline;
Associate Editors, Fred Hamann, John G. Holmgren, Samuel B. Wylie;
Editorial Consultant, Arthur M. Johnson; Art Direction, Paul Q.
Forster. Copyright 1955 by the California State Automobile
Association.
Two Important Projects
The establishment of roadside rests and the construction of a bypass of
the state parks on the Redwood Highway are two vital and important
projects for California. Bills designed to accomplish these two
worthwhile developments were introduced and passed by both houses of the
Legislature, but they failed to receive executive approval.
In rejecting the bills, the Governor felt that they represented only a
part of an over-all development of a future state parks program. As the
head of this greatest of touring and motoring states, he fully
recognizes the merit of roadside rests and the Redwood Highway bypass
and indicates that they will receive further consideration during the
budget session of the Legislature in 1956.
The touring business is a billion dollar industry in California. It has
become an integral and even necessary part of our state’s economy.
Whatever money is spent to foster and develop our tourist trade is an
investment that will inevitably bring rich returns.
If California wishes to maintain its lead in the touring world, roadside
rests are a “must.” All but five of the 48 states already have roadside
rest programs. These carefully-picked, off-highway spots are places
where motorists may make stops in safety. They also encourage motorists
to keep highways clean by providing free facilities for eating lunches
and disposing of litter.
Building a bypass highway around the redwood groves in Humboldt County
is imperative. If a four-lane highway were plowed through them, along
the path of the present route, there would be a shameful destruction of
these beautiful and awe-inspiring marvels of the botanic kingdom. Some
groves would be virtually eliminated. However, a bypass development to
preserve these great trees can’t be put off much longer. The present
route carries an increasing burden of traffic and the need for an
improved highway grows more urgent each day.
Undoubtedly these two important measures will receive favorable action
during the Legislature’s budget session next year. In fact, California
can’t afford to let them be delayed too long.
_AROUND MONTEREY BAY
Land of California’s Beginnings Offers Many a Charm for the Visitor_
In few places do History and Tradition, Romance and the Wonders of
Nature combine to offer so much to the visitor as in the region
surrounding the Bay of Monterey.
In the north is Santa Cruz, with its famous beach and lovely gardens,
and backed by the Santa Cruz Mountains with their redwoods. Southward
are historic old Monterey and Carmel, the art colony which has now
become a Mecca for sight-seers and vacationists. South, again, extends a
road between the mountains and the sea which is one of California’s
scenic marvels.
And as if all this were not enough, Nature has endowed the inland
valleys with such soil and climate that agriculture flourishes on a
tremendous scale.
[Illustration: {uncaptioned}]
Santa Cruz grew from the mission of the same name, founded in 1791, and
the settlement of Branciforte, established six years later. It might
have been any other community in pastoral California until the Gold
Rush, but then the newcomers demanded vegetables, which the Santa Cruz
area was able to supply, and lumber, for which the redwood forests in
the nearby mountains were raided.
[Illustration: _Surf and sea-fowl, cliffs and rocky islets,
characterize Monterey and Santa Cruz areas. View above is from
Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz._]
Even in the seventies, however, this was known as a resort region, where
the nabobs from San Francisco came to take their ease and recuperate
from the strains of their latest coups of high finance. It came into
full stature with the building of its first beach casino in 1906. Though
this promptly burned, it was as promptly replaced with the ornate
structure the public sees today. This has been further improved and
renovated in recent times, as has also the Coconut Grove dancing
pavilion which is an outstanding beach feature. Beside the mile-long
beach of white sand with its beautifully clear water there is an indoor
salt-water plunge and a boardwalk which runs eastward to the San Lorenzo
River. These, with a varied assortment of rides and concessions, drew
2,000,000 visitors last year and bid fair to excel that figure by a
fifth this season.
The city has other claims to fame in that it is the scene of the annual
Miss California contest and the terminus of a yearly yacht race from San
Francisco.
In the Santa Cruz Art League Galleries is a life-size waxwork, “The Last
Supper,” modeled on DaVinci’s famous painting of the same name. In four
years it has been visited by more than 260,000 persons.
_Blue and Peaceful or Bleak and Storming, the Ocean Wields a
Never-Ending Influence Over the Region_
[Illustration: _Cormorants find Lone Sentinel Rock, off Seabright
Beach, a favored resting place._]
[Illustration: _Pleasure craft by scores find anchorage beside Santa
Cruz’ Municipal Wharf, where also fishing vessels moor and many an
angler drops a line._]
In the nearby mountains are the permanent convention sites of several
religious groups, one of which includes a building capable of seating
5,000 persons. These and other conventions rank virtually as an industry
in Santa Cruz’ economy. But Santa Cruz is more than a resort or
convention city. It is a city of flowers. The Spanish Garden at its city
hall is beautiful. The drive north along the ocean front takes the
visitor past bluffs which are ablaze with colorful succulents and
flowers. In season, whole hillsides south of the city flame with yellow
bush lupine. Some of these plants have trunks as thick through as a
man’s leg.
_PACIFIC OCEAN_
[Illustration: _Pelicans may be seen on every wharf and pier, almost
every rock, from Santa Cruz to Carmel. Wise looking old birds,
aren’t they?_]
Bulbs, cut flowers and nursery stock are the biggest crop in the Santa
Cruz area, though a vast quantity of strawberries is raised and the
loganberry was developed in a Santa Cruz garden by James H. Logan,
banker, attorney and superior judge, who crossed the wild blackberry
with the Lawton berry to produce the delectable result. Brussels sprouts
are another outstanding crop.
Santa Cruz also raises mushrooms, in old caves once used for aging wine
and in newer concrete structures.
The largest bulb farms are at Capitola, shipping 3,500,000 tulip, lily,
dahlia and begonia bulbs a year. As each of these in turn comes into
bloom these farms offer a sight to be seen nowhere else. Championing the
region’s claim to being the “Begonia Capital of the United States,” a
festival is held each year on the waters of Soquel Creek, with thousands
of blooms scattered over the water and colorful floating displays.
[Illustration: _For more than 2,000,000 visitors a year, Santa Cruz
means FUN—fun in the indigo-dark water, fun on the fine white beach,
fun ashore._]
San Lorenzo Canyon, which begins a bare stone’s throw from Santa Cruz,
is full of summer homes and resorts, including one famous inn where a
mountain stream runs through the dining room.
[Illustration: _This ancient span, moved from original site to
DeLaveaga Park, in Santa Cruz, recalls times when horsepower was
really horses._]
[Illustration: _Color beyond description decks bulb farms near
Capitola each autumn, well justifies the name “Begonia Capital of
the World.”_]
Up this canyon, too, is the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, better
known as “The Santa Cruz Big Trees.” The park comprises nearly 20,000
acres, but the “Big Trees” are a compact group, which may be seen in an
easy walk of about a mile.
Farther north is Big Basin Redwoods Park, the oldest and largest of the
State Park system, with many virgin growth trees and an interesting
“Nature Lodge” which shows, besides flora and fauna of the park, the
methods used in early day redwood lumbering.
[Illustration: _Wind and sea carve endlessly at the cliffs west of
Santa Cruz. This graceful arch in Natural Bridges State Park is one
of the results._]
In the city of Santa Cruz itself is Natural Bridges State Park, a
notable example of erosion, and along the coast in Santa Cruz County are
six other state parks—Seacliff Beach, where a World War I concrete
freighter is used for a fishing pier and a fine road parallels the
cliffs; Sunset Beach, with a high lookout and picnic ground under
twisted cypresses; Capitola Beach, where there is a special pool for
small fry; New Brighton Beach, Manresa Beach and Zmudowski Beach. At
some of these campsites are available.
All through the mountains are interesting roads: the Empire Grade route
from Santa Cruz through Bonnie Doon to Boulder Creek is particularly
pointed out to visitors. In spring, so are the mountain apple orchards
along the Valencia Creek route from Santa Cruz to Watsonville.
[Illustration: _MONTEREY BAY
Some principal points of interest and routes around the bay_]
REDWOODS
HENRY COWELL
REDWOODS
•SANTA CRUZ
Lorenzo River
Branciforte CO
CAPITOLA
•WATSONVILLE
Pajaro River
MOSS LANDING
CASTROVILLE
17 Mile Drive
PACIFIC GROVE
MONTEREY
_MONTEREY PENINSULA_
PEBBLE BEACH
CARMEL
POINT LOBOS
Carmel River
TO BIG SUR
Salinas River
FORD ORD MILITARY RESERVATION
•SALINAS
TO KING
• _Offices of the California State Automobile Association_
Highly scenic routes from the north to the Monterey Bay region are,
first, the Skyline Drive from San Francisco, then down to the San
Lorenzo Valley and on through its fine redwoods to Santa Cruz, and,
second, the beautiful highway which follows the shoreline from San
Francisco south. The main route over the mountains from Los Gatos to
Santa Cruz is spectacular. The highway from Santa Cruz to Watsonville is
a concrete ribbon between lovely rolling hills gay with color. On the
Hecker Pass route from the Santa Clara Valley to Watsonville you can see
redwoods, the whole coast of Monterey Bay, and four charming little
lakes. The Chittenden Pass route, used by railroad and highway,
traverses a gorge of real scenic interest.
[Illustration: _Big Basin Redwoods State Park, oldest and most
popular of the state system, acts as host to more than 500,000
visitors a year._]
[Illustration: _Main avenue of approach to Santa Cruz is this fine
highway from Los Gatos. Curving gently through the Santa Cruz
Mountains, it brings to view a wealth of lovely scenes. Under
construction is a by-pass which will take its traffic off Los Gatos’
streets._]
Santa Cruz has its face to the future. Monterey, at the other end of
Monterey Bay, never forgets that it was the place where history began
for this region.
It was in what is now the city of Monterey that Portola, first governor
of California, and Father Junipero Serra landed in 1770. Under an oak
tree near the shore the good father held a service and founded a
mission. A stone cross today marks the spot, though the mission was soon
removed to its present site at the mouth of the Carmel Valley to be away
from the presidio, or military post, which Portola set up. At this
mission Father Serra made his headquarters and from it he supervised the
building of the mission chain.
Under Spanish rule, presidio and mission were almost all the settlement
but after Mexico had gained independence, adobe homes grew up in the
hills, stores were built along the crooked streets and the Mexican
government, less averse to foreign trade than the Spaniards, built a
customs house. This still stands and, restored, houses a museum. It is
one of five State Historical Monuments in the region, the others being
the Serra landing place already mentioned: the Casa del Oro, which
housed a store: the house where Robert Louis Stevenson lived for a few
months late in 1879, and California’s First Theater, originally a
sailors’ boarding house.
There are also standing more than a score of other structures erected in
this Mexican era, including one built in 1835 by Thomas Oliver Larkin,
first United States consul at Monterey, and Colton Hall, meeting place
of the Constitutional Convention in 1849. This, like almost all the
other remaining buildings, has been restored.
Monterey has laid out a scenic route leading directly to or near all of
these historic structures, and also including several historic sites.
Visitors may traverse this route merely by following an orange line
painted on the street paving. At many points on it, special parking is
reserved for them.
Whichever way you turn, there is something to be seen in this region.
Just across from the Customs House is Fisherman’s Wharf, where the
restaurants would feel unhappy if they had to serve you today fish that
was caught as long ago as yesterday. Alongside it, the fishing fleet,
decked in all the colors of the rainbow, rides at anchor. Farther along
the beautiful ocean drive is the Hopkins Marine Institute, operated by
Stanford University, and beyond that is Pacific Grove, with its
beautiful marine park and beach at Lover’s Point and its famous
Butterfly Trees.
Each October, thousands of Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and
Alaska to cluster on these pine trees in a small reservation known as
Butterfly Park.
How the butterflies know which trees are “home” no one can explain, for
they are hatched and pass through their chrysalis stage in the North.
Indeed, in recent years it appears they have become confused: the number
now visiting the original trees is greatly reduced and many of them are
frequenting other pines several blocks away.
[Illustration: _Home ports for several hundred fishing vessels are
Monterey, Santa Cruz and Moss Landing. This is part of the fleet
which bases at Monterey._]
_Santa Cruz Means Redwoods and Mountains, Fertile Fields and Fragrant
Orchards, Long White Beaches, Fishing, Festivals and Fun for All_
[Illustration: _Party boats on which the land-lubber may embark for
a day of deep-sea fishing are operated from Monterey and Santa
Cruz._]
Also not to be overlooked in Pacific Grove is an excellent Museum of
Natural History. Its collection of Monterey County birds and its
displays of marine life found in nearby waters are exceptionally
complete. In Butterfly Park is another museum, though it is called a
gallery, in which are displayed hundreds upon hundreds of butterflies,
moths and other insects.
If, like most visitors to Monterey, you continue to follow the bay
shore, where miles of wildflowers adorn the bluffs, you will come
eventually to the Seventeen Mile Drive, which runs through a tremendous
private preserve. On this, for most of the way, you travel with the
fantastically blue ocean on one hand and truly marvelous dark green
forest on the other. At times your route runs on low bluffs near the
ocean, and again you are on rocky cliffs high above. Back among the
trees, near the Pebble Beach area where the sports car races are held
every year, you frequently see homes that are almost palaces.
On your way you pass Cypress Point, which is one of only two places in
the world where the Monterey cypress is indigenous, and Midway Point, a
rugged rocky spine jutting into the sea and bearing a single lone and
twisted cypress, probably the most photographed tree in the world. Not
far away is the Ghost Tree, another cypress whose whitened trunk and
limbs seem like the bones and shroud of a fleeing wraith. Then your
route leads past Del Monte Lodge, with its array of fashionable shops,
and on through Pebble Beach, and thence to Carmel.
Carmel is unique, a “village” conceived by artists and now perhaps the
home of more well known writers, painters and other workers in the arts
than any other community in the state. Carmel has no street numbers, no
mail delivery, and you have to get permission from the town council
before you may even cut down a tree on your own property.
[Illustration: _In spring the apple blossoms whiten thousands of
trees and spread their delicate fragrance over many a mile in the
Watsonville area._]
In Carmel the trucks in which garbage is collected are adorned with
baskets of flowers. The street signs bear carved and painted
decorations—a pine cone, a squirrel, a ship under full sail, or
something else associated with the region. The shops are small but
legion, many of them hidden away in courts and arcades which the
non-resident is likely to pass unwittingly. Their stocks are
fabulous—and not all of it expensive, either.
In between are quaint places to lodge, to lunch, to dine or take tea
after the English manner. Of course there are conventional
establishments, too, but somehow everything in Carmel seems to have just
a little different flavor.
The town stands on an oak-and-pine-clad slope with a magnificent beach
fronting on Carmel Bay at its foot. Along the shore is a lovely drive,
on which are homes beyond the dreams of most folk. Back among the trees
are others. The comfortable domiciles built by the original artist
colony still exist, but they are a minority; Carmel has become a place
to which the wealthy, as well as the well-to-do and the merely
comfortable, come to spend their later years.
Carmel has an outdoor theater, a Bach Festival and an art gallery
maintained by an artists’ co-operative. Its Church of the Wayfarer has a
garden containing, it is said, every tree, shrub, herb and flower
mentioned in the Bible. Other gardens, formal and informal, are
everywhere. Once a year a number of the finest are thrown open for
public inspection.
And then there is the Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, where Father Serra
held sway. The present church is not the one he knew; it was not begun
until nine years after his death in 1784. But under its sanctuary floor
he, Padre Crespi, Padre Lasuen and another lie buried. The structure has
many features distinctive from the usual mission architecture, among
them its massive south tower, with outside staircase and Saracenic dome,
and a star window. It is of sandstone and has a vaulted roof as it did
originally but in restoration the roof angle was made less sharp. Some
of the original decoration may be seen in a small chapel to the left of
the entrance. In a side chapel is a magnificent sarcophagus in marble
and bronze, the work of Jo Mora.
A few miles south of the old mission is one of Nature’s
wonderlands—Point Lobos Reserve State Park. Here stands the second
native grove of Monterey Cypress, and here the ocean batters ceaselessly
against spectacular rocky points which rise precipitously to make
fjord-like coves. In these deep, sharp, inlets the blue water boils into
furious bursts of white foam and spray, forming always-changing pictures
of incomparable beauty.
_Lush Valleys of the Salinas and Pajaro Rivers Rich in Pastoral Charm,
Even Richer in Their Vast Yields of Lettuce, Apples, Berries, Livestock_
[Illustration: _Lettuce, famed “green gold” of the Salinas region,
stretches in row after row for miles along the highways through the
valley._]
[Illustration: _Beef cattle fatten on green hills and pasture lands
in southern Monterey County, famed stock-raising area since mission
times._]
Offshore is a group of rocks haunted by both California and Steller sea
lions, an island much used by seafowl and naturally named “Bird Island,”
and a roiling, turbulent channel appropriately called “The Devil’s
Cauldron” which is a favorite spot of the sea otter. These strange
creatures were long thought to have been hunted to extinction but about
30 of them appeared in 1938 off Bixby Creek, 12 miles south of Point
Lobos, and there are now believed to be almost 100 in the group. Some
ardent pursuers of wild life are already asserting that the otter have
now increased to such an extent that the “crop” should be “harvested”—a
policy which could easily result in extinguishing the species.
A mile below Point Lobos is Carmel Highlands, an area of rich estates
and fine homes, some of them set on the very edge of the continent. The
James house, in this area, has been called the most beautiful residence
in the United States. And the gardens hereabout are a thing to marvel
at.
Beyond “the Highlands” runs a real road of romance, a motor highway
carved from the seaward face of the Santa Lucia mountains. Most of the
distance to its junction with other routes at San Luis Obispo there is
nothing between this road and the blue, blue sea but the cliffs. Above
it, on the east, tower the mountains. It is no road for the man in a
hurry, but for one who loves Nature it is glorious.
[Illustration: _South from Carmel, in the trees or on the
cliffs—sometimes almost built out over the ocean—are some of the
most beautiful homes in America._]
This is wildflower country. Within a 20-mile stretch you may see, in
season, wild roses, primroses, California poppies, yellow lupine, wild
mustard spreading over fields like a froth of foamy yellow, great bushes
of blue lupine marching up rocky hillsides, almost cliffs: Queen Anne’s
lace, succulents of many colors, and sometimes succulents which are not
in bloom but whose foliage has turned a rich, dark red; Indian paint
brush—all these abundant, in masses easy to see and recognize as you
roll along. A naturalist could find many more.
The Spaniards would have come by this route if they could, but the
mountains were too rugged, there was no path between sea and cliffs, and
so they were forced inland. That this road was ever constructed was
largely due to the efforts of Dr. John Roberts of Monterey, who used to
ride horseback on calls to remote and isolated ranches up the canyons.
It was almost 20 years in building.
South along this road from Point Lobos, beyond Garrapata Creek and Rocky
Creek and Bixby Creek, past the light house at Point Sur and inland a
few miles, is Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park, a redwood park which is the
entrance to 250,000 acres of wilderness area in the adjacent Los Padres
National Forest. These redwoods are almost the most southerly of all:
the actual southernmost ones are on Mill Creek, some 25 miles farther
along the road.
And so to Watsonville. Watsonville exists because in 1852 one John H.
Watson decided that the location was suitable for a town and, with
another man, forthwith laid out one. Watsonville is strictly business.
Even before Watson’s time, the Amestis, Castros, Vallejos and other
Spanish pioneer families were busily raising grain and potatoes here.
California’s great lettuce industry got its start in the Watsonville
region and today it is a busy center for the raising and processing of
lettuce, berries, beans, brussels sprouts, and many, many apples.
The traveler passing through Watsonville sees only a rather busy main
street, plaza and business section, but only a little way to one side is
an area where quick-freezing plants, ice plants, warehouses and
lettuce-chilling works cover block after block, with switch engines
busily shifting empty cars to be loaded and loaded cars to be made into
trains and headed east.
Some eight miles south of Watsonville is Moss Landing, a port for
vessels of moderate draft, from which the grain crops of the region once
were shipped. Now it is the home of a picturesque fishing fleet and the
scene of one of the largest steam-electric plants in the West. This
giant, which the public may visit by obtaining a permit, produces
771,000 horsepower. Its eight boilers are each as high as a ten-story
building and, the better to withstand any possible earthquake, are
suspended in steel towers more massive than many bridge piers. Operators
in the control room use television to watch the leaping flames inside
the boilers and to supervise change-overs from natural gas to fuel oil
when required. Steam pressure is an incredible—except to engineers—1,405
pounds per square inch in one section of the plant and 1,510 pounds in
another.
_Scenes and Structures on Unique “Path of History” in Monterey Bring
Memories of the Days When California Was Young_
[Illustration: _The first building in California in which a stage
performance was given for an admission fee. Pacific and Scott Sts.,
Monterey._]
[Illustration: _The Casa Amesti, on Monterey’s Path of History.
Built early in Mexican era by Jose Amesti as a wedding gift to his
daughter._]
[Illustration: _The old Customs House at Monterey. Here Commodore
John Drake Sloat, on July 7, 1846, raised the American flag and
claimed for the United States the entire West, all of which was then
known under the name of California._]
Between here and Monterey you may drive for miles between fields laid
out in neat rows of thistly artichoke plants. Castroville calls itself
“The Artichoke Center of the World,” and with reason, for the annual
production from this area is more than 1,300,000 boxes.
_Natural Wonders and the Works of Man Combine to Create a Region of
Tremendous Beauty and Wide Appeal to Students, Vacationers, and the
Motorist Seeking Something New_
[Illustration: _Wildflowers in vast profusion and a galaxy of colors
line the cliffs along the bayshore at picturesque old Pacific
Grove._]
[Illustration: _High rocky spines, spare gnarled trees, an
ever-pounding surf and blue water are typical of shoreline at Point
Lobos State Park._]
[Illustration: _This is Pebble Beach, asserted by many to be the
finest of all golf courses. Finals of the Bing Crosby Open are
played here._]
It is inland, however, in the great valley of the Salinas, that
agriculture really hits its stride and while production in Watsonville’s
Pajaro Valley is tremendous, that which centers in the Salinas area is
even greater.
In the beginning Salinas was a center for livestock raising. Then
overtones of agriculture were added as potatoes began to be raised
thereabout. Later, sugar beets came in and the largest beet sugar
refinery in the United States was built a few miles west of the city.
Today, lettuce is the big item—two to three crops a year, worth more
than $40,000,000.
Production on most of the larger ranches is on virtually an assembly
line basis. Long machines, drawn by tractors, span 18 rows of the ripe
lettuce. On a platform ride the packers, usually eight. Ahead of the
machine walk cutters, one for each row, who cut the crisp green heads.
Behind the machines are other workers who place the heads on a table
before the packers. These packers place the heads in cartons which pass
on to a worker who closes them, and another who staples the closure
tight. The whole work proceeds so rapidly that a special worker is
required merely to unfold cartons.
Trucks, each of which holds exactly half a carload, follow the picking
machine and as the pallets on each truck are piled to the proper height
with cartons of lettuce, that truck departs for a cooling plant where,
under intense vacuum, the lettuce is cooled from the temperature of the
hot field to a point just above freezing in a matter of only 18 to 20
minutes. Then it goes into pre-iced refrigerator cars, with the cartons
still on the original pallets, and presently is on its way to market.
The old methods, by which lettuce was hauled to packing sheds for
trimming, packing and icing, are now all but superseded and firms with
tremendous investments in ice plants are wondering what to do with them,
for when it was necessary to ice each crate of lettuce Salinas produced
more ice than New York City.
Besides the lettuce which has given it the name “Salad Bowl of the
World,” the Salinas Valley also produces more than $6,000,000 worth of
dry beans, $12,000,000 worth of carrots, $5,500,000 worth of celery and
quantities of truck crops every year. The sugar beet crop runs to almost
$7,000,000 a year.
In spite of its agricultural importance, however, Salinas still thinks
of itself in terms of the old stock-raising days. The annual Salinas
California Rodeo was started in 1911 to perpetuate the sports and
traditions of the Old West. Membership on the 50-man board which
controls this four-day event is a coveted honor. In this fast, dramatic,
colorful spectacle, competition is of world championship caliber, prizes
amount to approximately $50,000 and every effort is made to see that the
stock is capable of bringing out the best in each competitor. “Salinas,”
said one rodeo rider, “is where they separate the men from the boys.”
Yet, while agriculture and stock raising overshadow them, this region,
too, has its recreation features. Paraiso Hot Springs and Tassajara Hot
Springs are well known resorts. The padres and, before them, the
Indians, made much use of the Paraiso Springs.
[Illustration: _Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, at Carmel, is often
called the most beautiful of all the missions. Its Saracenic tower
is distinctive._]
Like all the other sections traversed by the route of the padres, the
Salinas Valley had its missions—Mission de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad,
near the town of Soledad, and Mission San Antonio de Padua, near Jolon.
Both fell completely into ruins but now are being restored. Only a
beginning has been made at Soledad, but San Antonio has been largely
rebuilt by the Franciscan Fathers and is in use as a training school for
young brothers. It is a “working” mission—that is, not only a place for
worship but a place where industry is carried on, as it used to be at
the original mission, shoemaking, carpentry, book binding, the making of
adobe brick and tile for the rebuilding of the two wings which are still
to be reconstructed, and all the maintenance work.
In addition to agriculture, food processing, and the activities
dependent upon the sight-seers and pleasure-seekers, the economy of this
region also derives considerable support from industry. It digs and
processes sand for making glass and for other purposes. Salt and
refractories are manufactured. Lumbering continues on privately-owned
lands in the Santa Cruz mountains, with processing at Santa Cruz. Near
Santa Cruz is one of the largest cement production plants in America, if
not the world.
There are small-scale textile operations and a saddle leather plant in
Santa Cruz, which city is also intensely proud of its new chewing gum
plant. There are several seed farms producing flower seeds—a pretty
sight in summer—and more producing field crop seed. There are busy
commercial fishing fleets.
Stock-raising, with King City as an important center, brings the region
more than $3,500,000 every year and dairying almost as much again.
Oil was discovered near San Ardo about eight years ago and production
from this field, which has 480 active wells, holds steady at 30,000
barrels a day.
_Mountains Marching to the Sea, Red Tiles Amid the Green of Cypress,
White Clouds, Bare Cliffs and Crashing Surf—These Spell Enchantment_
[Illustration: _Highway One crosses this graceful span, whose arch
rises 260 feet above Bixby Creek, on its way southward beside the
ocean._]
[Illustration: _The Monterey Peninsula’s Seventeen Mile Drive is
world-known for its beauty and variety. Above, a distant glimpse of
Monterey._]
Also important economically are the many military installations. The
vast Hunter Liggett Military Reservation has headquarters near Jolon. At
Fort Ord, a few miles north of Monterey, 30,000 to 35,000 military
personnel and about 2,000 civilian employees are on duty. The once-famed
Del Monte Hotel at Monterey has become a postgraduate school for naval
engineering officers, with a faculty and student body totalling about
2,000. The Presidio of Monterey, established so long ago by Portola, is
now an army school where some 400 specialists instruct about 2,000
students in one or another of 26 languages.
Of late years the construction industry has been very important, for
cities all through Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties are growing so
rapidly they are fairly bursting at the seams. At Salinas, residential
development has extended far north of the Rodeo Grounds, which once were
out in the country. Outside the city limits to the east is another
development, called Alisal, almost equal in size to the residential area
of Salinas itself. And there are several smaller subdivisions. At
Monterey new subdivisions and communities, some very beautiful, extend
far to the north and many fine old trees are being taken from properties
along the Carmel Road to make room for more homes. Carmel has overflowed
into Carmel Valley. Santa Cruz is adding residential construction at a
rate of about $3,000,000 annually. Watsonville has grown more than 20
per cent since 1950.
Busy as it may be, however, it is all a friendly, hospitable country.
Nowhere will you find people too hurried to bid you welcome and to do
what they can to make your stay enjoyable.
—Written for Motorland by D. R. Lane.
[Illustration: _Along the coastline south of Carmel, the highway is
literally hewn from the cliffs. “Island” above is really Point Sur,
made famous by Robinson Jeffers in his “The Women of Point Sur.”_]
Personal Accident Insurance
You may go through life without being in a traffic accident, or you may
be involved in a traffic mishap and escape injury. But the statistics
are not in your favor. You may be unfortunate enough to become a
“statistic” in police or hospital records.
In these days of heavy traffic, even the most careful driver may be
involved in an accident; and police and hospital records show that
traffic crashes today result in more serious personal injuries than ever
before.
That is why the California State Automobile Association has added extra
value to CSAA membership, and is now issuing a Certificate of Personal
Accident Insurance providing greater protection to members than
heretofore. As in the past, this Personal Accident Insurance is included
in your membership without extra charge. Beginning July 1 last year, the
new certificates were issued to members as they renewed their
memberships, and to new members as they were enrolled.
[Illustration: _Continuous membership of three years or more
maintains the maximum benefits provided by new Personal Accident
Insurance._]
This new Personal Accident coverage increases in value over the first
three years of membership on condition that membership is continuous.
The increased benefits remain in effect contingent on continued prompt
renewal of membership over the years. For members with three or more
years of consecutive membership, maximum coverage became effective for
the current membership year upon issuance of the new insurance
certificate.
The schedule of benefits in this added feature of continuous CSAA
membership follows:
Payment to your beneficiary for accidental death involving an automobile
is based on consecutive years of membership; first year, $500; second
year, $1,000; third year and thereafter, $1,500.
Direct payments to you for other specific losses are also increased
under this _accumulative_ coverage.
Hospital benefits—$35 a week for a maximum of twelve consecutive
weeks—are retained and all indemnities are subject to the standard
provisions and limitations as specified in the Personal Accident
Certificate.
Your membership must be continuous to make this new schedule of
increased benefits effective for you; and your membership must be
retained on a continuous basis to keep the increased benefits in effect.
If membership is allowed to lapse, the benefits under the policy revert
to the first year basis if membership is re-instated at a later date.
This accumulative plan of Personal Accident Insurance based on
continuous membership was adopted by the Board of Directors, not only to
provide more adequate protection, but also to accord recognition to
continuous membership support.
[Illustration: S. V. Christierson
_Salinas_]
[Illustration: A. E. Strong
_Santa Cruz_]
Four CSAA Offices In Two Counties On Monterey Bay
In the two counties “around Monterey Bay”—Santa Cruz and Monterey—there
are four offices of the California State Automobile Association. They
are strategically located in four main cities at focal points of the
area’s network of highways to provide best service to the large
membership in the two counties as well as the continuous flow of
visiting members into this noted vacation and tourist region. These
offices and their district managers are:
_Santa Cruz_, with a branch office in _Watsonville_, C. E. White;
_Salinas_, J. E. Foust; and _Monterey_, Melvin R. Tuttle.
Two members of the Association’s Board of Directors represent this
region. They are:
A. E. Strong of Santa Cruz, a vice-president of the CSAA; and S. V.
Christierson of Salinas, civic leader and business executive.
Southern San Mateo County Office Moved
The southern San Mateo County office of the California State Automobile
Association has been moved to new and larger quarters at 1500 Laurel
Avenue in San Carlos. This location is in the Laurel Theater Building,
corner of White Oak and Laurel avenues, one block west of El Camino
Real. The new office provides more adequate service facilities for the
growing membership in this district than was available at the former
location in Redwood City.
New Legislation Affecting Motorists
_IT’S THE LAW
Making Turns Properly On Red Traffic Light_
[Illustration: IT’S THE LAW]
Right turns permitted against a red light must always be made after
stopping and under certain conditions. It is timely to review these
legal provisions in view of the new California law, effective
September 7, governing the procedure of making left turns on a red
light from a one-way street into another one-way street.
To make a right turn on a red light, the driver should come to a halt
at the intersection as close as practicable to the right-hand curb.
yielding the right of way to pedestrians and other traffic proceeding
as directed by the stop-and-go signal. As soon as the way is clear,
then the right turn may be made.
However, the law permits local authorities to prohibit such right
turns on a red light in central business districts. Also, local
officials may prohibit right turns on a red light outside the downtown
area at any intersection under their jurisdiction if a sign is erected
at the corner notifying the motorist to that effect.
On making a left turn against a red light from a one-way street into
another one-way street, the driver should come to a halt at the
intersection as close as practicable to the left-hand curb. When
certain there will be no conflict with foot or vehicle traffic, the
driver may proceed to make the turn.
Important new motor vehicle laws were passed by the 1955 California
Legislature. Equally important changes and clarifications were made in
many old laws.
Knowledge of these new regulations and revisions of the Vehicle Code is
naturally vital to you as a motor vehicle owner and operator.
Several centuries ago a wise thinker, Thomas More, wrote:
“_All laws are promulgated for this end: that every man may know his
duty, and therefore the plainest and most obvious sense of the words is
that which must be put on them._”
That advice is heeded in this article interpreting for you the new
regulations and code revisions. The interpretations are actually
summaries stated in everyday, non-legal language to make for easy
reading and quick understanding of the essential elements.
September 7 is the effective date of these new laws, except for a few
urgency measures which were put into effect immediately upon approval by
the Governor.
The present California highway user tax rates will remain in effect
until December 31, 1959, thus assuring the continuation of the state’s
accelerated highway modernization program adopted in 1953. This new law
carried an urgency clause and became effective January 22.
It is now provided in the Vehicle Code as well as in the Health and
Safety Code that it is unlawful to dispose of any garbage, refuse or
litter upon any highway or its right of way.
Driving under the influence of liquor is a misdemeanor. The penalty for
a first conviction of such a misdemeanor shall be automatically
increased to that of a second conviction, if the driver already has been
previously convicted of a felony for driving while drunk.
Revocation of the driving privileges of juvenile offenders is mandatory
upon conviction of certain serious offenses. Revocation or suspension
shall also be imposed upon recommendation by the juvenile court judge
for convictions of less serious offenses. The length of the terms of
revocation or suspension shall be specified.
Local authorities, as well as the State Department of Public Works, may
restrict speed to 25 miles per hour because of snow conditions. Local
authorities may also determine the maximum speed allowable on any bridge
or structure, or in any tube or tunnel, constitutes part of a highway.
The speed limit on highways where persons are at work shall be a prima
facie limit of 25 miles per hour instead of a fixed limit of 25 miles
per hour.
The speed limit for heavy trucks and combinations is increased from 40
to 45 miles per hour.
The Vehicle Code provides that the registered owner of a motor vehicle
is responsible for any parking violation involving the vehicle. That
presumption, however, does not mean that the registered owner is further
presumed to have violated any other provision of the law.
To pass a motor vehicle going less than 20 miles an hour on a grade, an
overtaking vehicle must go at least 10 miles an hour faster. In
addition, it must complete the passing movement within a quarter-mile
distance.
Heavy trucks shall use only the lane to the immediate left of the
right-hand lane when passing another vehicle on freeways and
multiple-lane highways. Where passing on the right is permitted, trucks
may do so.
A peace officer may remove an illegally parked motor vehicle to a garage
or other place of safety.
U-turns are prohibited on the approaches to or in front of any fire
station.
School Safety Patrol members may be stationed at intersections near as
well as adjacent to a school. The actual presence of a supervisory
school employee is not necessary at a street crossing where a patrol is
maintained.
Local authorities are authorized to close certain streets for use by
colleges as well as high schools in giving automobile driving
instructions.
School districts, under the Education Code, are allowed to conduct
driver training classes on Saturdays.
It is unlawful to refuse to obey the directions of a fireman, whether a
police officer is present or not, when he is protecting fire-fighting
personnel and equipment.
Stops at an arterial stop sign are to be made at the limit line, if
marked, even though there may be a crosswalk.
Emergency vehicles under certain conditions are permitted to go in a
direction opposed to moving traffic on a one-way street or roadway.
Authorities may erect traffic control devices at the intersection of a
highway and a private road or driveway if traffic conditions warrant.
License plates shall be mounted on a motor vehicle not less than 12
inches or more than 60 inches from the ground. They are also not to be
covered with any material which decreases or impairs their legibility.
Registration and vehicle license fee reciprocity is granted to motor
vehicles registered in other states pending the establishment of a
California Reciprocity Commission. To prevent needless confusion and
disruption in the interstate movement of vehicles and trade, this law
carried an urgency clause and became effective April 14.
The program of quarterly registration of commercial vehicles is
continued indefinitely.
Additional summaries of new motor vehicle laws and revisions of the
Vehicle Code will be published in the next issue of Motorland.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
_Questions in endless variety are asked by members about California
and Nevada history. Here are a few selected for their general
interest, with answers from authoritative sources._
_What was the background of Father Junipero Serra?_ He was a native of
Majorca, and held the chair of philosophy at the university there when
he was chosen to Christianize the Indians. Before coming to California
he spent several years in Mexico, teaching in the College of San
Fernando and attaining wide influence among the descendants of the
Aztecs as a spiritual leader.
_How many capitals has California had?_ Five—Monterey, San Jose,
Vallejo, Benicia and Sacramento. Vallejo was capital twice, the first
time in 1851-2 and again in 1853.
_For whom is Truckee named?_ For one of Fremont’s Indian guides.
_When was the old Bale Mill, near St. Helena, built?_ In 1846. However,
the present 40 foot wheel is a replacement for the original much smaller
one.
_When was the Butterfield stage line established?_ In 1858. It ran from
St. Louis to San Francisco, the longest stage line in the world.
_Did the United States make any effort to acquire California prior to
the war with Mexico?_ Yes. The United States offered to buy this
province from Mexico in 1835.
_Where was California’s first railroad?_ Between Sacramento and Folsom.
It was opened on February 22, 1856.
_What was the first American flag ship to sail into California waters?_
The Otter, out of Boston, entered the Bay of Monterey in 1796.
_Was the hydraulic method of mining ever used outside the Mother Lode?_
Yes. The largest of all hydraulic workings, the La Grange mine, is near
Weaverville, and the method has been used in many places outside of
California.
_Who first travelled the route across Nevada taken later by the Pony
Express?_ This route is credited to a party of scouts sent from Salt
Lake City in 1854 by Brigham Young. The route was followed later by the
stages and is approximately that of the Lincoln Highway.
[Illustration: THE BABY PULLMAN, _recently placed on the market in
infant supply stores and some department stores, converts the back
seat space of an automobile into a sleep or play area for infants.
It is a padded platform suspended from the top of the front seat by
two rubber-covered hooks and extending over the entire back seat
when opened out. Two wings fold up to make a cozy padded crib, or
one wing up leaves space for an adult to sit. This information was
provided by The Herrmanns infant supply house, with stores in San
Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose, where the Baby Pullman with pad
retails for $15.93._]
AUTOMOBILE ANECDOTES
The California Division of Highways, says Assistant District Engineer H.
S. Miles, has often cautioned drivers about horseplay while operating a
motor vehicle. Recently a report was received by the Division on an
accident that left no doubt as to which category it belonged. In
response to the question, “_Who in your opinion was at fault?_” the
driver wrote:
“_The horse. As I was passing a group of horses on the roadway at a slow
speed, two of them started to play and one backed up and sat down on the
right front fender, causing a large dent._”
In Helena, Mont., a motorist took a bite out of a ripe plum while
driving his car. Deciding he didn’t like it, he tossed it out of the car
window.
Where do you think it landed? On the windshield of a Highway Patrolman.
The motorist was fined for dumping garbage on the highway.
Montreal police swear this story is true. They received a telephone
complaint from a man reporting the theft of his automobile’s steering
wheel, dashboard, and brake, gas and clutch pedals. Police promised an
immediate investigation.
A few moments later, however, the phone rang again. The same man said
they needn’t bother. He had got into the back seat of his car by mistake
and thought it was the front seat.
In Monroe, Wis., motorists picketed the city hall after officials
decided to raise the fine for parking violations to one dollar.
It formerly was 10 cents.
In Toronto, a motorist hit a hole in a road and his car careened into a
jewelry store window.
City authorities approved out-of-court settlements of $2,084 to the
driver and $5,125 to the storekeeper. The hole was fixed for $7.
“_Did you get his license number?_” Oregon highway patrolmen asked a
motorist after his car was struck by a hit-and-run driver.
“_I sure did_,” he replied. “_I grabbed it as he drove away._”
He handed them the license plate.
SHAKESPEARE ON MOTOR TRAFFIC
_Traffic-strangled motorists who tend to long for the “good old days”
might well face the fact that things were no better then. In witness
whereof we give you this late report on early road conditions by that
peerless commentator, William Shakespeare, late of Stratford-on-Avon,
England, as recently recorded in the New York Times Magazine_:
“The horn, the horn, the lusty horn
Is not a thing to laugh to scorn.”
—_As You Like It._
“These high wild hills and rough uneven ways
Draw out our miles and make them wearisome.”
—_Richard II._
“Give me that mattock and the wrenching iron.”
—_Romeo and Juliet._
“Oh, let him pass.”
—_King Lear._
“A very dangerous flat.”
—_The Merchant of Venice._
“He must needs go that the devil drives.”
—_All’s Well That Ends Well._
“What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?”
—_Macbeth._
“Traffic confound thee.”
—_Macbeth._
“Smile, once more: turn thy wheel.”
—_King Lear._
“Is this a holiday?”
—_Julius Caesar._
“I can no further crawl, no further go.”
—_A Midsummer Night’s Dream._
“I must shift.”
—_The Merry Wives of Windsor._
“With what strict patience have I sat.”
—_Love’s Labour’s Lost._
Riders of the Andes At the Grand National
OCTOBER 28 TO NOVEMBER 6
[Illustration: _Herdsman Arnold Leonard of Stockton Ranch, Morgan
Hill, leads Hereford heifers to the judging ring at Grand
National._]
The famed “Riders of the Andes,” elite cavalry troop of the Army of
Chile, will be featured at the Grand National Livestock Exposition,
Horse Show and Rodeo to be held in the San Francisco Cow Palace October
28 to November 6. Termed the world’s most spectacular group of horsemen,
the 32 riders and horses will come to the Cow Palace as the result of
two years of negotiations and a special decree of the Chilean Congress.
The National Hereford Show and Sale and the Pacific Coast Aberdeen-Angus
Association Show and Sale are part of the livestock exposition, one of
the nation’s “big six” shows.
New classes have been added to the national full-division horse show.
Top-ranking contestants of the United States and Canada will ride in the
championship rodeo.
Regular performances will be held each of the ten evenings, starting at
8 o’clock, with matinees on the Saturdays and Sundays of October 29 and
30 and November 5 and 6, starting at 2 o’clock. Prices will range from
$1.25 to $3.50.
An added performance this year will be a children’s matinee Friday,
November 4, with a universal admission price of 50 cents.
COMING EVENTS
[Illustration: COMING EVENTS]
_Community Events in northern and central California and Nevada,
scheduled for September and October, are listed below. Dates and data
are subject to change. Information on events may be secured from any
office of the Association._
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 1-11: _Sacramento_, California State Fair.
Sept. 2-4: _Lakeport_, Lake County Fair and Horse Show.
Sept. 3-4: _Concord_, Trail Ride and Show.
Sept. 3-5: _Weed_, Italian Carnival.
Sept. 3-5: _McArthur_, Inter-Mountain Fair, Horse Show and Rodeo.
Sept. 3-5: _Nevada City_, Pelton Wheel Diamond Jubilee.
Sept. 3-5: _Pebble Beach_, Labor Day Mercury Regatta, Stillwater Cove.
Sept. 3-5: _Mariposa_, Mariposa County Fair, Horse Show and Rodeo.
Sept. 3-5: _Fort Bragg_, Paul Bunyan Celebration.
Sept. 4-6: _Tulelake_, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair.
Sept. 4-30: _Santa Cruz_, Statewide Watercolor Show.
Sept. 5: _Stockton_, Labor Day Parade.
Sept. 9: _Santa Cruz_, Admission Day Celebration.
Sept. 10-11: _Truckee_, Donner Lake Boat Races.
Sept. 12-18: _San Jose_, Santa Clara County Fair.
Sept. 14-18: _Orland_, Glenn County Fair and Rodeo.
Sept. 15: _Lodi_, Merchants Festival.
Sept. 15-18: _Reno_, Nevada, Washoe County Fair and Horse Show.
Sept. 15-18: _San Francisco_, Art Festival, Civic Auditorium.
Sept. 16-18: _Auburn_, District Fair and Horse Show.
Sept. 16-18: _Kerman_, Harvest Festival.
Sept. 16-18: _Lodi_, Grape Festival and National Wine Show.
Sept. 18: _Walnut Creek_, Folk Dance Festival, City Park.
Sept. 18: _Napa_, Junior Horse Show.
Sept. 18: _Grass Valley_, Barbecue and Gymkhana, Fair Grounds.
Sept. 18: _Santa Rosa_, Home Defense Day Parade.
Sept. 18-25: _Saratoga_, “Design at Home” Show, Villa Montalvo.
Sept. 22-24: _Sanger_, Grapebowl Festival.
Sept. 22-25: _Madera_, District Fair.
Sept. 22-25: _Watsonville_, Santa Cruz County Fair and Horse Show.
Sept. 22-25: _Walnut Creek_, Walnut Festival.
Sept. 23-25: _Boonville_, Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show. Horse
Show and Rodeo.
Sept. 24-25: _Sonoma_, Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2: _Hollister_, San Benito County Fair, Bolado Park.
Sept. 30-Oct. 9: _Fresno_, District Fair.
OCTOBER
Oct. 1: _San Anselmo_, Grape Festival, Sunny Hills.
Oct. 2: _Chico_, Horse Show.
Oct. 6-9: _Pittsburg_, Columbus Day Celebration.
Oct. 6-9: _Turlock_, Blue Ribbon Horse Show.
Oct. 13-16: _Hanford_, Kings County Fair and Rodeo.
Oct. 15: _Woodland_, Kiddie Pet Parade.
Oct. 15: _Fowler_, Fowler Fall Festival.
Oct. 28-30: _Fresno_, Cotton Folk Dance Festival, Memorial Auditorium.
Oct. 28-Nov. 6: _San Francisco_, Grand National Livestock Exposition,
Horse Show and Rodeo. Cow Palace.
Oct. 29-30: _San Rafael_, Chrysanthemum Festival.
Oct. 29-Nov. 1: _Ross_, Chrysanthemum Festival.
Oct. 30: _Fresno_, Folk Dance. Memorial Auditorium.
STATE FAIR
_Sacramento, Sept. 1 to 11_
[Illustration: {uncaptioned}]
All the best of the Golden State—in agricultural products, livestock,
industries, arts and crafts and entertainment features—will be on
display at California’s State Fair, September 1 through 11 at
Sacramento. There will be racing daily except Sundays, performances of
the West’s oldest horse show in the evenings, and outdoor evening shows
before the grandstand featuring the music of four outstanding American
composers. Jeanette MacDonald, Margaret Whiting, Gorden McRae and Paul
Whiteman will appear in these shows. Other entertainment features will
include a Gayway with shows and rides, fireworks displays each night.
Cities Receive Awards In AAA Pedestrian Protection Contest
Berkeley has won a First Place Award in the 16th annual nationwide
Pedestrian Protection Contest conducted by the American Automobile
Association and sponsored in northern and central California and Nevada
by the California State Automobile Association.
Berkeley received the award for its outstanding reduction in pedestrian
deaths.
A Third Place Award went to San Leandro for its reduction of pedestrian
fatalities and excellent pedestrian protection program.
Honorable Mention Awards were won by Sacramento and Richmond for the
over-all excellence of their pedestrian protection programs.
Twenty cities were awarded Special Citations for various individual
phases of their programs. They were:
Oakland, Alameda, Hayward, Stockton, Modesto, Monterey, Pacific Grove,
Hanford, Tracy, Grass Valley, Sausalito, Ross, Manteca, Sebastopol,
Fairfield, Red Bluff, Mount Shasta, Lakeport, Sutter Creek, and Reno,
Nevada.
In addition to the above awards, 37 cities received Commendation
Certificates for no pedestrian deaths during the year. They were:
Albany, Arcata, Belmont, Benicia, Burlingame, Carmel, Ceres, Chico,
Concord, Daly City, Dunsmuir, Fairfax, Fowler, Hillsborough, Livermore,
Lodi, Martinez, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mill Valley, Oroville, Piedmont,
Pittsburg, Roseville, Salinas, San Bruno, Sanger, San Rafael, Santa
Clara, Susanville, Turlock, Ukiah, Vacaville, Willows, Yreka, and Elko
and Sparks, Nevada.
The cities were judged in their respective population groups on the
basis of pedestrian safety activities and fatality and injury records.
The nationwide contest spurs direct action in cities to insure greater
pedestrian safety. The results are obvious; fatalities are declining
despite growing motor vehicle registration. Before the contest began in
1939, as many as 15,500 pedestrians were killed a year, compared with
the 7,900 killed in 1954.
_SAFE DRIVING PRACTICES_
Three-lane highways have a reputation as accident breeders—the middle
lane often being referred to as the no-man’s land of the open road.
When using the middle lane of a three-lane highway for passing or
turning during daylight hours, a sound driving technique is to turn on
your _headlights_.
The lights serve as a warning to oncoming motorists not only that the
middle lane is in use but also, and more important, that your car is
approaching them in the middle lane.
Many motorists are confused by the general appearance of modern
automobiles; and instances have actually occurred where drivers thought
the other car in the middle lane was going in the same direction they
were, until it was too late to avoid an accident.
There is no law requiring drivers to turn on their headlights under
these circumstances, so don’t depend upon other drivers to have their
lights on if they are in the middle lane. If yours are on, you are not
only being courteous to other drivers, but also protecting yourself by
alerting them to the fact that the middle lane is occupied by an
approaching car. Also, remember to turn off your lights as you pull out
of the middle lane.
_Curves AND Crossroads_
Sign at entrance to a crossroads town: “Gas killed 3,029 people in this
state last year—2 inhaled it; 27 put a match to it; 3,000 stepped on
it.”
_The difference between a straight-eight and the V-eight is just a
matter of whether you like your troubles strung out down the line or all
in one place._
Mrs. Jones (on telephone): “This time you really got yourself out on a
limb!”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, dear. I drove off a cliff and was hung up all night in
a tree.”
_Modern automobiles are getting so free and easy to drive that we need
power steering and power brakes to keep them under control._
Traffic Officer: “Your honor, I followed this man and he drove clear
through town with an arm around this woman.”
Judge: “Something’s wrong. It’s not logical for a man to drive through
town with his arm around his wife.”
_Parking conditions have improved in some localities—you only have to
climb over one car to get into your own._
[Illustration: “_With all the gadgets the automobile people put in
their cars, it’s a wonder they wouldn’t think of a garbage disposal
unit._”
—Courtesy George Lichty and the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate.]
Emergency Road Service Contract Station Changes Are Listed for Members
Recent changes in the list of Emergency Road Service contract stations
serving members of the California State Automobile Association are
reported below. Latest complete lists are available at all CSAA offices.
Always carry a list in your car. Please mark these changes on your copy
of current list.
_Angels Camp_, change in station: Wilmshurst Chevrolet Company;
telephone, REdfield 6-2258. If no answer, call REdfield 6-2224.
Succeeding Godell Motor Company.
_Centerville_, change in station: Central Chevrolet Company, 199 North
Main Street; telephone, 8-8346; night, Sundays and holidays, call
8-8395. Succeeding Joe Adams.
_Chester_, new appointment: Chester Motors. State Route 36; telephone,
2654; night, Sundays and holidays, call 4693.
_Cottonwood_, new appointment: Grigsby Service. Highway 99 at 4th
Street; telephone, Cottonwood 2161. After 10 p.m., call Anderson,
EMerson 5-8583.
_Kerman_, change in station: Morgan’s Repair Shop, 360 South Madera
Street; telephone, 6411; night, Sundays and holidays, call 5548, 5953 or
5103. Succeeding Sims Motor Company.
_Kings Beach_, Lake Tahoe, change in station: Ray & Mike’s Service,
State Route 28; telephone, LIberty 6-2717. If no answer, call LIberty
6-3392. Succeeding Bailey’s Tahoe Vista Garage, Tahoe Vista.
If You Are Moving, Send Old Address as Well as New
If you move, please list your _old_ address, as well as the new one, in
the notice you send to the California State Automobile Association. With
a membership roster of over 330,000, the old address is essential for
any change. As for your copy of _Motorland_, it is not enough just to
tell the Post Office, because they will _not forward_ second class mail
unless you pay extra postage. Also, a change of address notice given to
the Post Office is kept on file for only a limited time.
Offices of CALIFORNIA STATE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
MAIN OFFICE
SAN FRANCISCO 150 Van Ness Ave.
Telephone MArket 1-2141
OTHER OFFICES
AUBURN 750 High St.
Telephone TUrner 5-1506
BERKELEY 1849 University Ave.
Telephone THornwall 3-9700
CHICO 351 East 6th St.
Telephone FIreside 2-0176
EUREKA 408 “A” St.
Telephone HIllside 2-5721
FRESNO 1829 Van Ness Ave.
Telephone 6-9861
HANFORD 316 North Irwin St.
Telephone LUdlow 4-4401
HAYWARD 164 Castro St.
Telephone ELgin 1-3225
HOLLISTER 459 San Benito St.
Telephone 403
LODI 1 South Pleasant Ave.
Telephone 9-1802
LOS GATOS 370 Village Lane
Telephone ELgato 4-3750
MADERA 316 West Yosemite Ave.
Telephone ORchard 3-3586
MARTINEZ 915 Escobar St.
Telephone 1020
MARYSVILLE 715 Tenth St.
Telephone 2-2137
MERCED 705 West Seventeenth St.
Telephone RAndolph 2-2711
MODESTO 538 McHenry Ave.
Telephone 3-9171
MONTEREY 520 Fremont St.
Telephone 5-3138
MOUNTAIN VIEW 816 Castro St.
Telephone YOrkshire 7-5674
NAPA 1405 Second St.
Telephone 6-2071
OAKLAND 399 Grand Ave.
Telephone TEmplebar 6-1900
OROVILLE 2811 Montgomery St.
Telephone 1515R
PALO ALTO 109 Florence St.
Telephone DAvenport 3-3138
PETALUMA 110 Washington St.
Telephone 2-8288
PLACERVILLE 266 Main St.
Telephone 276
RED BLUFF 608 Main St.
Telephone 191
REDDING 1525 Pine St.
Telephone 292
RICHMOND 4113 Macdonald Ave.
Telephone BEacon 5-4324
SACRAMENTO 2230 Stockton Blvd.
Telephone HUnter 6-2871
SALINAS 201 John St.
Telephone 4828
SAN JOSE 2145 The Alameda
Telephone CHerry 3-1313
SAN MATEO 101 South Ellsworth Ave.
Telephone DIamond 3-4558
SAN RAFAEL 1114 Fifth Ave.
Telephone GLenwood 4-9194
SANTA CRUZ 1114 Water St.
Telephone GArden 3-2150
SANTA ROSA 526 College Ave.
Telephone 2323
SONORA 298 West Stockton Rd.
Telephone JEfferson 2-4363
SO. SAN MATEO COUNTY (SAN CARLOS) 1500 Laurel Ave.
Telephone LYtell 1-0761
STOCKTON 929 North El Dorado St.
Telephone HOward 4-4817
SUSANVILLE 32 South Lassen St.
Telephone 2373
TURLOCK 163 South Thor St.
Telephone 4-5149
UKIAH 415 South State St.
Telephone HOmestead 2-3861
VALLEJO 2015 Sonoma Blvd.
Telephone 3-1581
WALNUT CREEK 2067 Mt. Diablo Blvd.
Telephone YEllowstone 4-9758
WATSONVILLE 17 West Lake Ave.
Telephone 2-2421
WESTLAKE (DALY CITY) 20 Park Plaza
Telephone PLaza 3-5576
WILLOWS 258 North Butte St.
Telephone 12
WOODLAND 818 Main St.
Telephone 2-2896
YREKA Main near Miner St.
Telephone 182
YOSEMITE VALLEY Yosemite Village
(Summer Season Touring Bureau)
NEVADA DIVISION
RENO 111 West First St.
Telephone 3-5169
LAS VEGAS 204 East Charleston Blvd.
Offices of AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Members of the California State Automobile Association, when touring in
the thirteen southern counties of California, receive all services of
the Association, including insurance claim service, from the offices of
the Automobile Club of Southern California located in these cities:
MAIN OFFICE
LOS ANGELES 2601 S. Figueroa St.
OTHER OFFICES
ALHAMBRA 15 S. Chapel Ave.
ANAHEIM 132 N. Los Angeles St.
BAKERSFIELD Highway 99 at “M” St.
BELLFLOWER 16111 S. Clark Ave.
BEVERLY HILLS 8833 Olympic Blvd.
BISHOP 510 N. Main St.
BURBANK 1720 W. Magnolia Blvd.
COMPTON 110 N. Poinsettia Ave.
COVINA 208 W. Badillo St.
CULVER CITY 11168 Washington Blvd.
DOWNEY 12015 S. Paramount Blvd.
EAST LOS ANGELES 5350 E. Beverly Blvd.
EAST SAN DIEGO 3729 El Cajon Blvd.
EL CENTRO 1407 Main St.
EL MONTE 601 N. Tyler Ave.
ESCONDIDO 499 S. Escondido Blvd.
FULLERTON 623 N. Spadra Road
GLENDALE 801 S. Central Ave.
HIGHLAND PARK 5101 N. Figueroa St.
HOLLYWOOD 6902 Sunset Blvd.
HUNTINGTON PARK 2151 Gage Ave.
INDIO 44-967 Oasis Ave.
INGLEWOOD 1231 Centinela Ave.
LAGUNA BEACH 2891 Coast Blvd. South
LONG BEACH 757 Pacific Ave.
MONROVIA-ARCADIA 333 E. Foothill Blvd., Arcadia
NORTH HOLLYWOOD 11523 Burbank Blvd.
OCEANSIDE 302 S. Freeman St.
ONTARIO 525 West “A” St.
OXNARD 134 North “A” St.
PALM SPRINGS 128 S. Indian Ave.
PASADENA 130 N. Hill Ave.
PASO ROBLES 1113 Spring St.
POMONA 502 W. Holt Ave.
PORTERVILLE 915 N. Main St.
REDLANDS 430 E. State St.
REDONDO BEACH 303 Garnet St.
RIVERSIDE 6927 Magnolia Ave.
SAN BERNARDINO 998 “D” St.
SAN DIEGO 2100 Fourth Ave.
SAN FERNANDO 804 Celis St.
SAN LUIS OBISPO 1134 Monterey St.
SAN PEDRO 1616 S. Gaffey St.
SANTA ANA 1608 N. Main St.
SANTA BARBARA 1301 Santa Barbara St.
SANTA MARIA 725 S. Broadway
SANTA MONICA 2121 Wilshire Blvd.
SANTA PAULA 108 N. Tenth St.
SOUTH LOS ANGELES 9621 S. Vermont Ave.
TAFT 501 Kern St.
TULARE 200 North “M” St.
VAN NUYS 11131 Burbank Blvd.
VENTURA 1023 Thompson Blvd.
VISALIA 520 W. Mineral King Ave.
WESTWOOD VILLAGE 2000 Westwood Blvd.
WHITTIER 313 N. Greenleaf Ave.
ILLUSTRATIONS—Photographs: Cover, pages 2 and 3, Art Malquel, Santa
Cruz. Inside front cover, pages 12, 13 (top and center), 16, Wynn
Bullock, Monterey. Pages 4 and 5, courtesy The Seaside Company, Santa
Cruz. Pages 6 (center and bottom), 8, 9 (bottom), Ed Webber, Santa
Cruz. Pages 6 (top), 10, 14 (center), Mike Roberts, Berkeley. Pages 9
(top), 13 (bottom), Rey Ruppel, Monterey, courtesy Monterey Chamber of
Commerce. Page 11 (left), California Spray-Chemical Co. Page 11
(right), Cal-Pictures Inc., San Francisco. Pages 14 (top), 15, Josef
Muench, Santa Barbara. Page 14 (bottom), Julian P. Graham, Pebble
Beach. Page 17, Ansel Adams, San Francisco, courtesy American Trust
Company.
RECORDER-SUNSET PRESS, SAN FRANCISCO
[Illustration: A 1914 model Locomobile, West Cliff Drive, Santa
Cruz]
⇒ FORTY-ONE YEARS LATER Since issuing its first automobile insurance
policy in 1914, premium savings dividends amounting to $20,868,344 have
been paid to insured members by the
CALIFORNIA STATE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION INTER-INSURANCE BUREAU
_In SEPTEMBER Santa is busy._...
[Illustration: {uncaptioned}]
Santa, the jolly gentleman closely identified with fabulous activity
during late December, is busy at this time of year, too. He is reputed
to circle the globe in a single night at year’s end, all the while
busily popping up and down chimneys.
He is able to do all of this because he planned ahead. And if you want
Santa to visit you in some foreign land, start your planning now, too.
Santa has to plan his trip alone, but you can get the expert help of the
Foreign and Domestic Travel Department of the California State
Automobile Association.
There is a special tour leaving San Diego December 17, planned so you
visit Mexico to celebrate the Nativity during Posada time. Another
thrilling experience is to have Santa visit you at sea during a
shipboard Christmas party. Sail from San Francisco on December 21 and
enjoy the special hospitality of the _S.S. Lurline_ on Christmas day. Or
on the South America tour leaving San Francisco on November 13, make the
optional return by sea with special entertainment provided on the _S.S.
Del Sud_. For complete holiday travel information mail this coupon:
Foreign and Domestic Travel Department
California State Automobile Association, 150 Van Ness Avenue, San
Francisco 2
Please send me information on
[ ] Mexico Tour [ ] Hawaii Tour [ ] South America Tour
Name ________________ Address ________________
[Illustration: Around Monterey Bay
_A view of the beach and boardwalk at Santa Cruz, thronged with
bathers and pleasure-seekers. The broad, safe beach and mild climate
have made this a popular fun center for young and old._]
Transcriber’s Notes
—Silently corrected a few typos.
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Motorland Magazine, September-October, 1955" ***
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